Friday, December 16, 2016

Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and the City Council on Tuesday announced the eventual closure of the Road Home, a homeless shelter with over 1200 beds in downtown Salt Lake near the Gateway Mall. In place of the Road Home, four smaller shelters will be built around the valley that will only sleep 150 people each. Despite the homeless population growing each year, this new decision will put 600 homeless people out of a bed. The LDS Church owns the land that the City plans to build one of the homeless shelters. The city has already spent $9.7 million for two of the locations. Instead of the Church donating their land, it was reported in the news that they would either do a land swap with the City or according to KSL's Paul Nelson, the LDS Church has given the city up to three years to buy the property. DESERET NEWS ARTICLE

Why is it that we can donate millions of dollars to build theaters, malls, high rise office buildings and expensive condos and apartments, but we can't even donate land for the City to build a homeless center?

Wouldn't it be great if we GAVE to the poor and to the HOMELESS.

Above is the property that the LDS Church plans to sell to the City. Instead of the Church donating the land, tax money will used to purchase the land and for a small homeless shelter to be built.

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Sidenote: Coming in 2017 to be implemented in all the LDS Stakes and Wards.

The Church has a new program initiative for 2017. It is called the North American Self-Reliance Program. A booklet has been developed, with videos and other resources "to assist priesthood leaders as they exercise their keys, implement these new tools, and help members help themselves toward self-reliance".